Monday, March 11, 2013

I have
always had a soft spot for hand-pulled silkscreen posters and this "Blow
Your Mind" poster is one that I have, almost certainly irrationally, seen
as important.By no stretch of the
imagination is this a psychedelic poster in the purest sense, but the event
itself, and the participants are important. The Delano Grape Strike had started
only a few months earlier and at this time I guess no one thought it would lead
to years of strikes, protests and boycotts of companies such as Safeway. By
1967 the Berkeley Barb was publishing lists of organisations and products to be
avoided.

As for
the bands, John Handy was already a name act. He had played with Charles Mingus
in the late 50s and was a regular performer in the Bay Area with his Quintet
that also included Jerry Hahn. However, each of the other acts was still in
their infancy as far as performances were concerned.

In their
early days The Final Solution were occasionally augmented by the vocals of 18
year old Jane Dornacker and in such cases changed their name to Earth Mother
and The Final Solution. Dornacker would go on to have a reasonable musical,
stand-up comedienne and acting career before turning newshound and broadcaster.
Unfortunately she lost her life in a helicopter accident whilst reporting a
traffic incident in New York in 1986.

At this
point the Sopwith Camel were living and rehearsing in the Firehouse in Presidio
Heights. This was only their fourth public performance.

NelvetonButler’s name crops up on a couple of posters – I always wondered if he was one
of the other members of The Skins (with Ulysses S Crockett) who used to play
drums between sets at the Fillmore in the early days – I rather suspect he was.

So who
were the unbilled “other big names”?

The first
were the Family Tree which was one of the earlier musical vehicles for Bob
Segarini. They had formed after The Brogues (I Ain’t No Miracle Worker) went
their separate way.

The final
act was Quicksilver Messenger Service – again featuring remnants of The Brogues
in Gary Duncan and Greg Elmore. Although the members of QMS had come together
at the first Family Dog dance in October 1965, this was again only their fourth
public performance using the QMS name – although there were a couple of earlier
performances where the band performed without a name. Obviously someone pulled
the event together – perhaps Ambrose Hollingworth was involved in some way.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

In the early 1960s, there was a “folk circuit” anchored
by Cambridge, Massachusetts and Berkeley, California.
Folksingers could play the Club
47 in Cambridge, go down to Greenwich Village, and work there way
across the country, possibly hitchhiking, and sleeping on the couches and floors
of other folkniks. The history of this circuit is best covered in the book
Baby Let Me Follow You Down (Eric von Schmidt and Jim Rooney, UMass Press
1979). The Cabale
Creamery (2504 San Pablo at Dwight in Berkeley), founded by Rolf Cahn,
Debbie Green, Howard Ziehm and Chandler
A. Laughlin III, was a crucial stop on this circuit. By August 1964, the
club was owned and run by Carroll Peery,
manager of the Chambers
Brothers who subsequently moved to Cambridge themselves, and Howard Ziehm. Bay
Area bluegrass musician Sandy Rothman has written a brief but excellent memoir of the Cabale as part of a
project on the great Clarence White and Jorma Kaukonen recorded his album
"Cabale Creamery" here in 1964.

When the Cabale finally folded,
probably sometime in the summer of 1965, the 2504 San Pablo premises briefly became The Good
Buddy then Caverns Westbefore being
taken over, by Terry Sullivan and Tony Sage, and re-opened as the Questing Beast on November
19.

Unfortunately, by May 1966 The Beast
had been slain with its downfall well documented in the May 6 (Vol 2, Number 18)
and May 13 (Vol 2, Number 19) issues of the Barb.

The Questing Beast was primarily a
folk coffeehouse and hosted similar acts to the Jabberwock on Telegraph Avenue
with a fair amount of flamenco, bluegrass and classical guitar playing thrown
in. By all accounts it never managed to turn a profit.

The end was bought about following problems with the local police
department and Board of Health who had visited in mid April 1966 and demanded a
number of costly improvements to be made. It also transpires that the joint
managers of The Questing Beast, Terry Sullivan and Tony Sage, borrowed a
patron’s car on Saturday April 30 in order to go for cider and donuts and were
pulled over by Patrolman George Williamson, allegedly because of a defective
rear light.

A subsequent routine ID check was
conducted and the vehicle searched. A small amount of marijuana was found and
the two arrested. Friends struggled to find the bail money and their fiancées
apparently considered “turning tricks” to raise the funds. By May 2, the day of
the arraignment, Sullivan’s bail was in place. However, immediately before the
court session, Inspector Darrell Hickman of the Detective Division told Sullivan
“I’m revoking your entertainment license” – despite that neither Sullivan nor
Sage had been tried or convicted. Sage was taken after arraignment to the
maximum security Greystone facility at Santa Rita. Sage recounted to the Barb
stories of the scant conditions and food at Graystone in an article published on
May 13.

A hastily arranged three day benefit
was arranged with Solomon (Feldthouse – later of eclectic LA band
Kaleidoscope) with the Holiday Dancers, Country Joe and The Fish, John
Paul, Dave Cohen, Dan Paik and The Gospel Tonics (who had originally been
scheduled) appearing.

By the time the Berkeley Barb
was published on May 6, it was clear that without their cabaret license it would
be impossible for The Questing Beast to have any paid performers, scheduled
performances, admission or cover charge, and no advertising of live
entertainment could be placed. Notwithstanding this, Country Joe and the Fish
went on to perform as scheduled that evening. Although the staff at the Beast
had told the Barb that emphatically and unanimously that “The Questing Beast
will not close”, the Country Joe and the Fish show that Friday proved to be the
last music performed there.

Sunday and Monday saw The Questing
Beast host Jerry Abrams’ Berkeley Cinematheque (something they had done each
Sunday since March 20) and the doors closed for the final time on May 9, 1966.

2504 San Pablo later became home to
Tito’s, Babylon and then the Longbranch Saloon. Today the building houses a
business called “Good Vibrations” (more Duracell than the Beach Boys).

This has been researched and prepared by Ross Hannan and Corry Arnold. Thanks are due to the late Cactus Pete Anderson who contributed significantly to the research.

Performance History

19 November 1965Alice
Stuart Opening of The Questing
Beast.Alice Stuart was, and still is, a
folk singer.At the time she was riding
high on the back of her Arhoolie debut album "All The Good Times".

20 November 1965Alice
Stuart

21 November 1965Hoot

22 November 1965Closed

23 November 1965

24 November 1965

25 November 1965Clarence
Van HookThe ad says “Open Tuesday thru
Sunday, 9-1”. This suggests that the venue was open regularly but only
had “name” acts on the weekend. The same ad promotes a Sunday night
“Hoot.”

26 November 1965Clarence
Van Hook, KC DouglasKC Douglas was
born in Sharon, MS in 1913, and played with blues legend Tommy Johnson.He relocated to Vallejo, CA in 1945 to work
in the Navy shipyards.By 1947 he had
relocated to Oakland and was working regularly as a blues performer.He had a hit in 1949 with "Mercury
Boogie," better known as "Mercury Blues" and recorded by Steve
Miller (1967), David Lindley (1981) and Alan Jackson (1992), and later used by
the Ford Motor Company.From 1963 to
1970, Douglas was an employee of the Berkeley Public Works Department.After a performance at the Berkeley Blues
Festival in 1970, Douglas had a boost in popularity, and he performed
successfully until his death in 1975.Clarence van Hook, a guitar player, generally accompanied Douglas and
continued to perform well into the 1990s.

27 November 1965Clarence
Van Hook, KC Douglas

28 November 1965Hoot

29 November 1965Closed

30 November 1965Jim
LynchAd states "rambler tunes
and flat picking".

01 December 1965Bob
Cooper

02 December 1965

03 December 1965Jean
Redpath and Karen Williams Jean Redpath
was a singer of Scottish ballads.

04 December 1965Jean
Redpath and Karen Williams

05 December 1965Hoot

06 December 1965Closed

07 December 1965Jim
Lynch

08 December 1965David
and Tina Meltzer Ad says
"electric bass, bluegrass and ballads".Both would go on to be members of Serpent
Power.

20 January 1966Joe
McDonald"Although advertised as a Joe
McDonald show, evidence points to this being the first true Country Joe and The
Fish show as a band.Country Joe
McDonald, Barry Melton and Bruce Barthol played ""Bass
Strings"" and other songs.

In Joel Selvin's book San Francisco: The Musical History
Tour, Selvin discusses an Instant Action Jug Band show in late 1965 that took
place at the Cabale Creamery. By his account McDonald, Melton and Barthol
played ""Bass Strings"".If this were correct then it would date it to well before late 1965 as
the Cabale had been closed since the Spring.After November 19, 1965 the 2504 San Pablo location was home to the
Questing Beast - the venue having also been called The Good Buddy and Caverns
West since it was the Cabale Creamery.Therefore either the date is wildly incorrect, or (much more probably in
my view) the location correct (2504 San Pablo) but the venue name and date
incorrect.Furthermore, in an interview
with Mojo Navigator (Issue 10), John Francis Gunning states that the first
Country Joe and The Fish show was at the Questing Beast.The implication is that earlier shows had
either been Instant Action Jug Band shows or Country Joe and The Fish as the
McDonald/Melton duo - with augmentation by others – typically the Jabberwock
irregulars.

The first steady line-up of Country Joe and The Fish
featured Joe McDonald and Barry Melton (The Fish – or Blind Ebbets Field),
Bruce Barthol, David Cohen, John Francis Gunning and Paul Armstrong. Armstrong
would stay until the July of 1966 when he would be unable to sustain his
commitment to the band.

21 January 1966Malachi"Psychedelic Music".Malachi, an eastern influenced ex jazz
musician, was a self-styled "Existential Guitarist" who had appeared
regularly at the Studio C Gallery at 1625 San Pablo during the summer and
autumn of 1965.He was often accompained
on rattle by his wife.

11 February 1966Disassociates,
Saint James FiveThe ad says “Jazz,
Rhythm and Blues Jam Session with The Disassociates.”Films are advertised for Sunday night
(February 13).Supposedly, the Grateful
Dead were using The Questing Beast as a rehearsal hall at this time.This ended when the Dead abruptly decamped to
Los Angeles with their patron, LSD king Augustus Owsley Stanley III.The Bear was an old Berkeley hand, and there
is a whiff that the Questing Beast arrangement was Owsley’s doing.There may have been a Grateful Dead show
scheduled at the QuestingBeast for
Friday (February 11) which was canceled as well.A Grateful Dead tape circulates as “Questing
Beast Rehearsal February 11, 1966,” but both the date and venue are spurious.

12 February 1966DisassociatesAdvertised
as a "folk rock" group but possibly incorrectly billed in the
Berkelely Barb and should be "The Disaffiliates".

20 March 1966Berkeley
Cinematheque: The Green Archer, The Flower ThiefA series of films are presented on Sunday nights at the Questing
Beast (for the complete set of Barb ads for the films, see the Chicken site).In the 60s, few films were shown on TV, and
all those were bland Warner Brothers fare or contemporary “family” type
movies.Opportunities to see Classic,
Foreign or Underground films were rare, and film events like this were a
significant part of the counterculture at the time.

18 April 1966Health
PeopleThe Board of Health took the
opportunity to conduct an inspection of The Questing Beast.

19 April 1966Health
PeopleMance Lipscomb show cancelled
whilst the Board of Health inspected the Beast.

20 April 1966Health
PeopleMance Lipscomb show cancelled
whilst the Board of Health concluded the inspection of the Beast.It transpires they were less than pleased
and, like the Jabberwock a year later, demanded a series of costly improvements
to be made.Although attempts were made
to keep the Beast afloat with the "folk festival" and benefit at the
end of April, by the second week of May the Beast was slain.

26 April 1966Jesse
Fuller, Lynne HughesJesse Fuller, a
"folk blues" multi-instrumentalist and singer who invented the
Fodella known as ‘The Lone Cat,” was based in San Francisco.Lynne Hughes (her name misspelled on the
poster), was a fellow traveler and part-time member of The Charlatans from the
Red Dog Saloon of the previous year.

27 April 1966Jesse
Fuller, Lynne Hughes Lynne Hughes was
the singer, barmaid and book keeper for the Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City, NV
during the summer of 1965 when the Charlatans played their legendary six week
stint. Lynne was later involved with both Stoneground and Tongue and Groove,
as well as appearing at live shows with The Charalatans.

28 April 1966Jesse
Fuller, Lynne Hughes, Country Joe and The Fish, Dan Paic, Blind Ebbets Field,
Dave Cohen, KC Douglas, Clarence Van Hook, Solomon, Nino, Catana, Flamenco and
others [Folk Festival]The Barb ad says
"psychedelic music" and "other nights, other guests".Solomon was Solomon Feldthouse, a major
figure on the West Coast folk scene, and later a mainstay of the eclectic LA
group Kaleidoscope.He often appeared
with flamenco or gypsy dancers. K.C. Douglas was an Oakland bluesman.Blind Ebbetts Field, is aNom Du Folk of Barry Melton.

29 April 1966Jesse
Fuller, Lynne Hughes, Country Joe and The Fish, Dan Paic, Blind Ebbets Field,
Dave Cohen, KC Douglas, Clarence Van Hook, Solomon Nino, Catana, Flamenco and
others [Folk Festival]The configuration
of Country Joe and The Fish at this time would have been Joe, Barry, David
Bennett Cohen (guitar, organ), Bruce Barthol (guitar), Paul Armstrong (bass),
John Francis Gunning (drums).Interestingly,
the Dave Cohen listed on the poster is likely to be the Fish organist rather
than the Los Angeles session musician with the same name.That Dave Cohen was Country Joe’s guitar
teacher in about 1963 in Los Angeles.

02 May 1966Solomon
with the Holiday Dancers/Country Joe and The Fish/John Paul/Dave Cohen/The
Gospel Tonic/Dan Paic[Benefit
Help] There are a few surviving posters from this week (4.26-5.5.66) at The
Questing Beast.They list numerous acts
over several days.Logic and David
Bennett Cohen’s comments suggest that the listed acts played one or two nights
at the club each, rather than all appearing every night.However, we have been unable to determine the
exact breakdown of acts aach night.Solomon was Solomon Feldthouse, a major figure on the West Coast folk
scene, and later a mainstay of the eclectic LA group Kaleidoscope. He
often appeared with flamenco or gypsy dancers. John Paul was a local
Berkeley musician, very influential in the intellectual appreciation of musical
developments at the time (e.g. the Beatles). David Cohen recalls that he
was probably booked to play separately from Country Joe and The Fish, although
could well have just played a set with the band.

03 May 1966Solomon
with the Holiday Dancers/Country Joe and The Fish/John Paul/Dave Cohen/The
Gospel Tonic/Dan Paic [Benefit Help]One
of the posters says “Help” and lists a Berkeley Public Health and Safety
Ordinance by number.We must presume
that the venue was in violation of some requirement, but what exactly is
unknown.The last Berkeley Cinematique
adfor the film series in the Barb is
for Sunday May 8. Whatever violations may have been subject to statute, it
appears the venue closed, later to become Tito’s and then the Longbranch.